Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in honey from stingless bees (Meliponinae) in southern Brazil.

This study evaluated sixteen Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) considered priority pollutants by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in 13 honey samples from seven Meliponinae species, collected in native forests and industrial areas in southern Brazil. All samples contained at least one PAH. ∑PAHs ranged from 1.4 to 23.3 μg kg ^-1 , where 23 % of samples were above the maximum allowed levels in dietary food for special medical purposes. Furthermore, the Excess Cancer Risk (ECR) ranged from 1.67 × 10 ^-5 to 6.17 × 10 ^-3 , and 2.97 × 10 ^-6 to 1.10 × 10 ^-3 , according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) daily intakes, respectively, being 61.54 % and 15.38 % of the samples above the threshold classified into sever by the USEPA. Results highlighted that honey has been affected by PAH contamination and that it has the potential to be used as an indicator of environmental pollution.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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